Wes Studi among inductees announced for Hall of Great Western Performers

Wes Studi will receive the honor on April 20 during the museum's annual Western Heritage Awards. Other inductees include the late Robert Mitchum, Leo Carillo and Duncan Renaldo.

Studi is a full Cherokee who was born in 1946 in Nofire Hollow, near Tahlequah. In addition to his acting career, he is a Vietnam veteran, sculptor, musician, author and activist, according to a news release from the museum.

He is best known for his roles in “Dances With Wolves” as a Pawnee warrior, “The Last of the Mohicans” as Magua, “Heat” as Detective Casals and in James Cameron's “Avatar” as Eytukan, the leader of a Na'vi clan.

Studi spoke only Cherokee until he was 5, when he was sent to Chilocco Indian School in northern Oklahoma, where he remained until high school graduation. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served 18 months in South Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta.

After his honorable discharge, Studi became involved with American Indian politics and helped start a Cherokee newspaper. During college, he taught the Cherokee language. He later became a professional horse trainer and began acting at The American Indian Theatre Co. in Tulsa.

In 1988 he landed his first film role in “Powwow Highway” and made his TV debut in the ABC-TV movie “Longarm.”

A role in the 1988 PBS production of “The Trial of Standing Bear” helped him realize his passion for acting, the news release noted.

Studi is an internationally recognized expert on indigenous languages and has worked as a language consultant on several films.